Chapter 997: The fateful meeting

The operations room of Jiuding Securities Company.

Xia Yu saw Wang Qizheng pointing out the practical exercises of Yuan Tianfan, and he didn't even notice his arrival.

Xia Yu walked behind them and observed quietly. In a short while, he revealed a satisfied smile.

'Ahem!'

Xia Yu coughed softly, which startled Wang Qi. He looked back and then respectfully greeted Xia Yu: 'Chairman, you're here!'

'Hello, Chairman!'

Yuan Tianfan greeted Xia Yu and then returned his attention to the control panel.

'Take me to see the situation at Xiangjiang Aircraft Engineering Company!'

Xia Yu instructed Wang Qi.

'Okay!'

'Please follow me, the project team is this way.'

Wang Qi answered, and immediately led Xia Yu to a relatively enclosed office that was relatively quiet.

When he walked in, Xia Yu saw three people inside, two of whom were traders operating methodically, while the other was doing auxiliary work.

Jiuding Securities had its own set of comprehensive work systems, with work always being the top priority. Even if the leader came, nothing was more important than work.

This set of work systems ensured that employees would not make mistakes due to external factors during rigorous financial operations.

So even though Xia Yu and Wang Qi came in, the three employees continued to work attentively.

Fortunately, Xia Yu's level was higher than theirs, and he could get most of the data and information without them reporting to him.

Xia Yu and Wang Qi walked behind the three men and watched quietly.

The opening price of Heung Kong Aircraft Engineering Company this morning was HK$4.72 per share, but now the stock price has soared to HK$15.25 per share.

The real-time stock price is more than 3.2 times the opening price!

This shows how competitive this stock is!

In fact, it was. As soon as Jiuding Securities arrived, they went all out, placing a buy order at double the opening price, which instantly set the market alight.

Norman Shihai then ordered Swire Finance to intervene and grab the shares at any cost.

Neither side was willing to back down, and with less than 8% of the total shares in public circulation, the share price of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company naturally skyrocketed.

However, despite the high share price, Jiuding Securities didn't buy many shares in its account.

The reason is simple: the real goal of Jiuding Securities was not to buy up shares, but to drive up the price!

In a situation where the enemy is aware of the plan but we are not, Xia Yu has long known that Swire Pacific only holds 23.42% of the shares.

And after a period of low-key stock-gathering by Jiuding Securities, only about 11.5 million shares are in circulation, equivalent to 7.66% of the total share capital of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company.

Even if all of these 7.66% shares were bought by Swire Pacific, there is no way the shareholding ratio could be raised to one-third!

It's just that the Shih Ya-huai family is not aware of this.

If Norman Shih Ya-huai had known early on that Xia Yu had already accumulated a 44.12% stake in HKAECO, then he would have been able to guess Xia Yu's true intentions.

'Has the opponent been identified?'

'Is it Swire Finance, or some other agency they've commissioned?'

Xia Yu asked Wang Qi after withdrawing his gaze.

Wang Qi immediately replied, 'It's Swire Finance. I had someone investigate as soon as they got involved, and they're not hiding it at all.'

Xia Yu nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and commanded, 'Continue to drive up the price and lock in as much of their funds as possible. You have three days to do this: today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.'

'By the morning of the day after the day after tomorrow, I will have someone make a move on Cathay Pacific. If it is successful, then Cathay Pacific's 24.8% stake in Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company will be ours, and it will be difficult for Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company to continue pushing up its stock price.'

Wang Qi nodded solemnly and said, 'Okay, then after the afternoon session opens, I will arrange to increase the intensity.'

'Well, in addition, you should arrange for someone to secretly buy the shares of all the listed companies under the Swire group, just in case. Don't sell them without my instructions.'

'Understood!'

...

That afternoon, the economic program on Global TV highlighted the astonishing rise in the share price of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company.

At the same time, what had happened at Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Airport Ground Services in the morning also leaked out and spread at an astonishing speed.

Compared to the general public, who were just eating the melon, the upper echelons of Hong Kong society were even more concerned.

After all, the two sides in the struggle were the leading British and Chinese companies, and it was clear that the Swire consortium was at a disadvantage.

The affairs of the Hutchison Whampoa and Jardine Matheson consortia were still fresh in everyone's minds, and everyone's nerves were still sensitive. Now this had suddenly happened, so these bigwigs couldn't help but pay attention.

Some people with delicate minds have already started to plot, secretly gathering funds in preparation for the time when they can seize the initiative.

Over the next two days, public opinion boiled like water. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company, the only listed company under Swire Pacific Aviation, was right in the thick of the fierce competition. Its share price directly broke through 30 Hong Kong dollars per share, and the company's market value broke through 4.5 billion, charging towards 5 billion Hong Kong dollars!

It is hard to imagine that this is only the market value of a supporting company in the aviation industry!

Some timid investors and small institutions have already sold their shares halfway through, and the shares have basically gone into the pocket of Swire Finance.

The public's attention is focused on the capital market, but the discerning ones know that the key lies in the unseen bloodless struggle.

In the past two days, the seven independent directors of Cathay Pacific have been visited in turn. The choices are either to side with Swire Pacific or with Jiuding Industrial Group.

Coercion, enticement, intimidation and other tactics have all been used, leaving the seven directors in torment. Their personal and family lives have been seriously affected, to the point where they can't sleep at night or rest at ease. They can't wait for the temporary board meeting to end the matter.

Finally!

When the first ray of dawn pierces the clouds and spreads across the bay of Victoria Harbour, June 17th finally arrives!

Early in the morning, the entrance to Cathay Pacific Airways was full of reporters, all with long and short cameras waiting in anticipation, and outside the perimeter were many onlookers.

Wei Li had considered this situation, so he reported to the Hong Kong Police Department in advance and applied for crowd control. As a result, there were many police officers controlling the crowd and a lot of police tape outside Cathay Pacific Airways.

Cathay Pacific employees had to go through multiple layers of questioning before they could enter the company. Even if they did, what heart would they have to work?

As the hours passed, the senior management and directors began to arrive.

When key figures such as Wade Schiawase, Wei Li, Song Bo, and Baker Jerry appeared, they caused a huge sensation, and the reporters snapped away like their film was free.

At nine o'clock, the Cathay Pacific conference room was closed and the temporary board meeting officially began.

The moment to decide the fate of Cathay Pacific had finally arrived!